Consumer How Products sustainability is and Retail fundamentally changing consumer preferences Executive Summary Growing concerns about environmental challenges and the need for conservation of natural resources – as well as greater expectations around societal issues – have brought sustainability into the mainstream for consumers and organizations. This extensive research program analyzes the impact of sustainability on consumers’ purchasing patterns and examines how far organizations have come in understanding and meeting their expectations. Our key findings are: Consumer preferences are strongly impacted by sustainability: • A significant majority of consumers (79%) are changing their purchase preferences based on sustainability. This contrasts sharply with the 36% of organizations who believe consumers are willing to make this change in their choices/ preferences based on social or environmental impact. Such a gap represents a risk of ~6% of brands and retailers revenue if unaddressed. • Consumers practice sustainability-led behavior in their daily life (eg, minimizing food waste or using energy-efficient appliances), and in their shopping behavior (eg, preferring products with minimal packaging). They attribute positive emotions such as feeling “happy” when buying sustainable products, which shows the potential for sustainability to impact customer experience, happiness and loyalty. • However, COVID-19 has made the situation more nuanced, with consumers weighing up safety issues against sustainability goals. For example, we are currently seeing a decrease in demand for used or refurbished products as customers prefer avoiding “touch-based” practices. At the same time, however, consumers are still keen to make sustainability work: – 65% are willing to purchase alternative non-plastic products or packaging than plastics in the light of COVID-19. – 68% want to increase use of local products – they consider it as a perfect blend of “safe” and “sustainable” – Moreover, they do not want companies to abandon sustainability goals and practices in these crucial times. If they meet these needs, organizations can benefit significantly: • 77% say their sustainability approaches increase customer loyalty and 63% have seen a revenue uptick. There is a significant opportunity to gain market share given this growing action/intention of consumers to switch based on sustainability. However, despite the mutual value on offer to both, both consumers and organizations show weaknesses in their thinking and approach: • Organizations fail to grasp how fundamentally consumer preferences have shifted as a result of sustainability – in terms of trust, loyalty, and price expectations. • Many consumers are not aware of the environmental or social consequences of many of the common products they purchase and therefore their best intentions go unfulfilled. We highlight four best practices: • Empower consumers and employees through awareness, education and choice to to deeply embed sustainability. • Position technology at the core of sustainability initiatives to drive value • Build in robust sustainability governance • Collaborate with the broader ecosystem for a greater impact. 2 Consumer Products and Retail – How sustainability is fundamentally changing consumer preferences Introduction Climate change and sustainability issues are top of our social Drawing on that extensive research, our report focuses on: and economic agenda. This is clearly reflected in our research into consumer sentiment and opinion: 1. The importance that consumers and organizations place on sustainability and the impact it has on how consumers • Nearly 80% of consumers want to be able to make a difference in saving the planet for future generations. behave and buy • 77% are concerned about the humane and fair treatment 2. How COVID-19 has impacted sustainability and of workers. safety preferences • 72% are personally concerned about their 3. The benefits organizations are deriving from environmental footprint. sustainability approaches • 66% choose to purchase products or services based on their 4. The differences between perception and practice “environmental friendliness.” in sustainability Clearly, concerns about climate change, pollution, biodiversity 5. The maturity levels of CPR organizations in scaling their loss, resource scarcity, and the wider well-being of society sustainability initiatives means that consumers are posing hard sustainability questions 6. How organizations can accelerate their sustainability to consumer products and retail (CPR) organizations. And, journey. these changing behaviors and values regarding environmental friendliness, social responsibility, and economic inclusiveness are translating into a demand for corporate change. As well as consumers, governments, public-interest groups, investors, competitors, and employees are also pushing CPR organizations to change their ways of working, cultures, and products. These changes have far-reaching implications for the sector and demand that products, services, operations, and ecosystems in which the companies operate are sustainable. To understand where the CPR industry stands today in terms of sustainability, we launched a comprehensive research program, surveying 7,500 consumers and 750 large organizations in this sector. In addition, we conducted one-on- one interviews with a range of sustainability leads from large organizations. More details on the research methodology are found at the end of the report. 3 Defining sustainability in CPR The United Nations definition of sustainable development strives to strike a balance between the present and the future: “Sustainable development has been defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. For sustainable development to be achieved, it is crucial to harmonize three core elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. These elements are interconnected, and all are crucial for the well-being of individuals and societies.”1 Using this definition as a basis, we assess sustainability in the consumer products and retail industry along three dimensions: environmental, social, and economic (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Sustainability framework for consumer products and retail organizations Environmental friendliness nitiaties focused on conseration of natural resources reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions responsible endoflife disposal etc. Social responsibility nitiaties focused on safe woring conditions for the worforce fair labor policies and policies against child labor gender discrimination and forced labor etc. Economic inclusiveness nitiaties focused on fair trade and commitments to a wider cause – poerty reduction education etc. Source: Capgemini Research Institute Analysis. 4 Consumer Products and Retail – How sustainability is fundamentally changing consumer preferences This framework – including planet- and human-friendly operations, processes, products, and services – also becomes the basis for how we define sustainability initiatives across the industry’s value chain. As Figure 2 shows, we identified many areas where the industry is pursuing sustainability. These range from sustainable product design and development to broader societal initiatives such as poverty reduction. Figure 2. Sustainability across the CPR value chain PRODUCT DESIGN SOURCING MANUFACTURING PACKAGING 1. Circular product design 3. Responsible use of 5. ustainable 8. Recycledrecyclable maimum material natural resources manufacturing process alternatie pacaging recycling after product 4. ue diligence of implementing 9. Refillable packaging usage easily taen apart footprint of the raw maintenance uality into components etc.) materials and production 2. Product sustainability processes to reduce 10. ustainable products that use less waste and improe warehouse operations water or natural resources recyclability and reuse building material DISTRIBUTION to manufacture) of materials lighting etc.) 6. se of renewable 11. ower emissions power and focus on route optimiation energy efficiency combining 7. aste reduction trucloads etc.) 12. Etending sustainability to logistics partners CIRCUAR ECONOMY FUFIMENT STORE OPERATIONS 18. Recycleupcycle 16. ower lastmile 13. Reducing unsold productsused emissions waste instores productspacaging 17. tending 14. Reducing 19. Product as a serice sustainability to consumables in models logistics partners . se of renewable power and focus on energy efficiency 20. Fair labor policy worer safety policy against child labor policy against forced ABOR labor policy against discrimination fair prices to labor etc INFORMATION BEYOND TECHNOOGY OPERATIONS 21. nergy usage in data 22. ider initiaties for centers etc. humanity Source: Capgemini Research Institute Analysis. 5 Sustainability is key: Consumers see an emotional connection; organizations see it as a strategic priority year olds). Sustainability thus makes a difference by touching Sustainability impacts upon the positive emotional aspects of consumers. “There is definitely a change that has taken place in the world in consumers. consumers purchase Specifically, the younger generations – such as GenZ – are really starting to take decisions based on sustainability. Millennials are preferences and makes also sustainability oriented, but they still struggle sometimes to act upon that. But I think GenZ is much more likely to actually change them happy their behaviors,” says Eelco Smit,